Saturday's victory in Foxborough, Massachusetts, was, in a sense, a "get right" game. A 1-0 victory with a goal scored by Kévin Denkey and a defensive stand got FCC back on track after a frustrating and disappointing week prior to the international break.
The victory, which snapped a four-game winless run, represented more than just three points on the board – which, in fairness, would have been enough – it also displayed a return to a more normal performance for The Orange and Blue, particularly on the defensive end. By allowing just four shots inside the box, which totaled just 0.4xG, the FC Cincinnati defense stymied the red-hot New England Revolution on their own turf. A Revolution side who had been undefeated in their last nine league matches and kept one of the best offensive attackers in the league in Carles Gil at bay.
The International break between FC Cincinnati's two recent matches, which spanned 14 days and stood as the longest break between FC Cincinnati games this calendar year, was used strategically both for player mentality and for team tactical cohesion. There was time away from the pitch for everyone to "reset." Still, there was also extensive time addressing details on the pitch and the ways they want to improve themselves. Some in training described it as "a second preseason," considering the way they approached the fundamentals they were looking to improve on and how so many new players have come into the team since the team broke camp in their initial, actual preseason in Clearwater, Florida.
Details aside, it was a chance to reset and reestablish what kind of team FCC believe they are.
"Since I've been here, this club hasn't been used to a week like we had two weeks ago. So we needed to change that and get things going in the right direction," FC Cincinnati defender and captain Matt Miazga said after the victory, establishing the tenor of not only the team's approach to the match but their resolve that carried them through the break and into the second half of the season.
"It was a good win to get back on track after last week," Miazga continued. "We didn't have a great week, but football is like this in a season this long. There's moments where you do well, there's moments where you don't do well, but we needed to get back on track…I think we had a good day today, and we hopefully can build on that. We have another small break, 10 days to our next game, so I think it's good for our confidence. Go back to work with confidence, boys are happy, and we gotta keep moving forward."
Defense was a point of focus in the break, according to several sources inside the locker room, particularly when it came to defending the box and clearing away crosses from opponents on the wings. The defensive base has been the calling card for FCC this season, and that strength returned even with a shorter defensive group to pick from. 22-year-old Gilberto Flores started alongside Miazga and Lukas Engel, who was deputized as a center-back. So even with three center backs unavailable in Miles Robinson (international duty), Nick Hagglund (injury) and Teenage Hadebe (returning from international duty), the defense swept away any danger.
There were places that needed improvement, but for the most part, FCC saw the reset they were looking for.
"Defensively, I think our structure was pretty good for the majority of the game," Head Coach Pat Noonan said after the match. But, there are still moments where I think, as we were stepping to the ball, how we were able to deal with their midfield trio and get one of our center backs releasing in behind Obi or Pavel, I think we got a few of those moments wrong. That's something that stood out."
"But how we were able to defend deepe, closer to our goal, I thought was solid," Noonan continued. "We defended crosses very well tonight, and that was a focus leading up to the game, and a takeaway from the three games prior. So that part was an improvement."
Miazga played no small part in that improvement as the marquee defender turned in his first full 90-minute performance since his injury last season, masterfully leading the back line to a clean sheet and confused postgame that getting a full 90 in provided a breakthrough for himself and his development this season.
The vocal leadership the 2023 Defender of the Year provides to the squad beyond the defense has been noted several times since his return to action. His on-field communication is one of the skills his teammates most often credit to their own success. But getting Miazga to full match fitness and looking strong in all those minutes is a key to success for FCC as they look to improve. Not needing to sub for him or worry about how his absence may impact squad dynamics makes for a strong team as a whole.
"It feels great. That is a moment that I really wanted to do since my injury. I was close a few times, but now I finally got that out of my system, which is great," Miazga shared. "I'm feeling stronger, fitter, sharper every day and week."
"I think it was important for him to get through 90 minutes," Noonan explained in his post-match press conference Saturday. "He took a knock early on that he was concerned about, and we had, players ready, but I think it was important for him to push through it and struggle, but to get through the entire game, I thought he did a really solid job tonight. So certainly something to build on."
Something to build on was the largest takeaway for the team on Saturday night and heading into this week. Again, it wasn't a perfect performance; there were absolutely things that left Noonan and the team frustrated or things to work on. However, this was a more solid base to build upon, and with 10 days again to work and the confidence from the win, FCC can move on and feel better about their situation.
"Same way we did after the three games in a week. We'll look at some of the things that we focused on in training and probably revisit that and look at this game and see some things that we can take away from it that were strong, which a lot of things were," Pat Noonan said as to how they plan to approach the next week of training. "Set pieces were very good for us tonight on both sides. But despite not finding the goal on the attacking side, we defended the ball."
FCC travel to CF Montréal for their next match on Wednesday, June 25th, at Stade Saputo in their final regular season trip to Canada.